X-ray and neutron diffraction studies on iron-substituted Z-type hexagonal barium ferrite:: Ba3Co2-xFe24+xO41 (x=0-0.6)

Z-type hexagonal ferrite samples in-which cobalt are partially substituted with iron, Ba3Co2-xFe24+xO41 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6), were prepared by the ceramics process under a sintering oxygen partial pressure, Po-2 = 21.3 or 101.3 kPa, at 1573 K. The influence of the substitution ratio and oxygen partial pressure on the complex permeability was investigated by examining the cobalt distribution over various cation sites in the Z-type. structure with the neutron powder diffraction analysis performed at 294 K. The Rietveld analysis performed on the neutron diffraction patterns indicated: (a) cobalt ions occupy only four sites (12k, 4e, 2a and 2d) out of 10 possible sites, (b) only 2a site accepts substituting cobalt. ions, and (c) he magnetic spins he in the basal plane of the hexagonal structure. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.